The primary operating components of combustion engines have remained the same over many years, wherein the combustion engine utilizes a crankshaft in operable communication with a piston through a connecting rod. The crankshaft includes a series of “bearing journals”, a series of “crank throws” or “crankpins”, and a series of “counterweights”. The crankshaft is assembled to an engine block by seating each of the series of bearing journals within replaceable main bearings retained within a crankcase of an engine block. The bearing journals define a linear axis or axis of rotation. The crankpins are additional bearing surfaces whose axis is offset from that of the crankshaft. The smaller end of each connecting rod is rotationally attached to a wrist pin assembled to each respective piston. The larger end of each connecting rod is rotationally attached to the respective crankpin.
The efficiency of the engine is limited by the geometric limitations of the design. The connecting rods oscillate as the crankshaft rotates. The oscillation is generated by an offset between the crankpin and the bearing journals or the crankshaft axis of rotation. For example, the longer the connecting rod, the smaller the angle between a normal force provided upon a combustion surface of each piston and a central axis of each respective connecting rod during a combustion or power stroke of an engine cycle. The smaller the angle the more efficient the transfer of force. Two factors affect a torque applied to the crankshaft. The first is the applied force. The second is a lever arm distance, wherein the lever arm distance extending perpendicularly between a central axis of the connecting rod and the central point of rotation of the crankshaft.
The applied force is the result of the combustion chamber pressure applied to the combustion surface of each piston during combustion of the fuel. The applied force is the component of the normal compression force running parallel to the central axis of the connecting rod. There exists an angle between the centerline of the bore and the centerline of the connecting rod, wherein the angle at any moment of time is a function of the crankshaft angle at the same moment during the rotation. The shorter the connecting rod, the greater the angle. Additionally, the greater the resulting lever arm distance, the greater the resulting torque output.
Accordingly, there remains a need in the art for a more efficient combustion engine by overcoming the geometric limitations imposed by current piston driven combustion engine configurations that utilize a combination of a piston, a connecting rod, and a crankshaft.